help

Amy - posted on 03/12/2009
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1 mom has responded
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i need help in saving money! i have stopped trying to combine finances with my spouse and i am using a program called "you need a budget" but it didnt vwork when he kept spending. son now i;m supporting my baby alone and would like some ideas :) thank you!

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Dawn - posted on 03/13/2009

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i know it's tough being on a budget and at first i hated every minute! i hated going into a store and seeing something that i wanted and knew i couldn't buy it. but i just kept telling myself "do i want this little trinket or do i want to buy a house?" after a few months of asking myself this i was happy passing up those things. being smart at the grocery store helped me too. get the fliers on sunday ( i don't buy the paper i just go look at my mom's) and watch for sales. if you combine your coupons with these sales you can save a lot. also what i do is at the beginning of the week i sit down with all my cookbooks and plan out a full weeks menu...i try to make things that have most of the same ingredients so i'm not buying alot of weird things that will only get used once. when meat is on sale i stock up and freeze it. also veggies etc...most everything can be frozen. o a good way to get coupons is to go to the website of the product or manufacturer and request to be on the mailing list and get samples. another good site that sends out free stuff and coupons is vocalpoint.com.

as far as the kids go...i've smartened up there too with the second one. i buy diapers at walmart and i get the big box of usually luvs but sometimes the pampers are the same price so i'll get them when they are. they will last me about 3 weeks. i will not pay full price for kids clothes and shoes!! it doesn't make any sense. the most i will pay for an item is $10 and thats pushing it. i shop the clearance racks at the end of the season and i buy one size bigger and save it for the next year. yard sales and consignment shops are your friend. i just went yesterday and bought all my son's clothes for this summer and spent $14 for a huge bag. i got a few things for my daughter in that too. we have a good will store here where i can buy books for 10 cents a piece!! and you can find brand new ones there. i get movies for $1. i can never find any clothes there though as they aren't picky about what they sell and they're usually not in very good condition. but that's why i go to the consignment shop. we save buying the expensive toys for christmas and birthdays. we get my daughter one big thing and then a few little things and then let everyone else buy stuff too. we both have big families so this is easy for us. but a good way to make sure your kids get everything they need and want is to shop the clearance sales again at the end of the season. or just shop all year round...i always say i'm going to do this and never do!! i know it's bad:) but when your out in the summer and you see something that you would like to give someone for christmas...as long as you have the extra money at the time go ahead and get it and put it away. this will cause less strain in december...you won't be scrambling to come up with extra money if your done in october!

i try and be smart with buying household items as well. baking soda and vinegar are an excellent and cheap way to clean your sinks and tub. you can use vinegar mixed with water in a spray bottle to clean your windows. i know it doesn't smell very well but hey in a pinch it works! once again i went to the various websites and requested coupons and i get some every month to help with the cost. i love my swiffer and although it can be a little pricy it saves me the time of mopping on my hands and knees cause let's face it who has the time! so it is ok to splurge a little.